Brandon Jacobs miffed after Pats game

NEW YORK -- Brandon Jacobs dressed quickly after the New York Giants' fourth preseason game, a 20-17 win over the Patriots in which the three-year starter didn't have a single carry.

A disappointed Jacobs, who watched his friend Ahmad Bradshaw line up as the official starting running back, said football was a brutal business.

"No question," Jacobs said. "To be in this business, you have to know that. No one's your friend in this business. This is a cutthroat, backstabbing business. That's just the way it goes. It's been like that before me. If you expect anything else out of a business like this, you're crazy."

In February 2009, Jacobs signed a four-year, $25 million extension with the Giants, with $13 million in guaranteed money. Last season wasn't what the Giants hoped to get out of their back, who had minor offseason surgery on his knee, and there was criticism that he was more tentative upon his return.

Jacobs said it's too early to ask for a trade. There isn't anything that can be done with the season about to start, and the situation could work itself out. In the meantime, he said he would work hard and stay ready for the moments when his number is called.

"It's almost hard to stay positive in a situation like this, but that's what I've got to do," Jacobs said.

Bradshaw admitted he has jumped Jacobs in the rotation, a fact fairly obvious but not said out loud until Thursday night.

"I am going to take it as it comes and as much as they give me, I got to take advantage of it," Bradshaw said. "They're giving me this job for a reason, and I think I have earned it so I am going to take advantage of it."

Earlier in training camp, running backs coach Jerald Ingram said the Giants would move away from a single-back system to more of a committee, but Bradshaw's statement indicates they simply shifted the workload. Jacobs said he has no idea what the plans are for him in the Giants' future.

"Nope, they don't talk to me about anything -- they do what they do," Jacobs said.

Jacobs said he thought getting the contract extension intensified the scrutiny last season.

"If I would have stayed making minimum, this wouldn't be a problem," Jacobs said. "Once you get paid, you're always in danger of running into problems like this. It doesn't matter who you are or what team or organization you play for, that's just the way it is."

Jane McManus has covered New York sports since 1998 and began covering football just before Brett Favre's stint with the Jets. Her work has appeared in Newsday, USA Today, The Journal News and The New York Times. Follow Jane on Twitter.